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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29273670">Her Eyes are Alive</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bananatole/pseuds/bananatole'>bananatole</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ghost Quartet - Malloy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, I just started writing until I didn't have anything to add, Mentions of alcohol, alcohol abuse as well, anyway i kinda wanted to make this into a smut, but you all know the story, enjoy tho!, i didnt end up doing it, i might end up making a continuation, i will include warnings in the notes, id also keep in mind some body image things, idek if anyone is going to read this, oh btw im working on a soldier and rose comic so i have ade character designs, so i am describing their appearance a bit, soldier is not healthy, suicidal thoughts are kind of a thing, there's no graphic depiction of violence or anything, which means i am using those in terms of appearances</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:42:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,365</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29273670</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bananatole/pseuds/bananatole</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What a pair of eyes. </p><p>Honey brown and glistening. Hiding more that they originally show. Eyes full of life.<br/>When was the last time my eyes shone like that?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rose Red/Soldier (Ghost Quartet)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Her Eyes are Alive</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>List of warnings! There's nothing graphic but I just want to make sure everyone is okay!</p><p>- mentions of alchohol<br/>- mentions of suicide<br/>- body image , descriptions of Soldier's body in contrast to Rose who is healthy<br/>- mentions of death<br/>- brief mention of a corpse in relation to describing Soldier's features</p><p>Enjoy! Please let me know if you enjoyed this :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>I’ve gotten used to death. Moaning in the night isn’t any big thing.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The woman’s eyelids felt heavy as she attempted to keep them open enough. The cheap whiskey in the glass she was holding stared right back at her, almost mockingly.</p><p>
  <em>Where’s the alertness you’re trained to have?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It’s obvious you’re welcoming your ruin.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>She nodded at the class, not realizing she was now walking, headed towards the door. Everything seemed the same. Motion and stillness were not something she could distinguish between. She had no interest in doing so anyway.</p><p> </p><p>The woman raised her head, a bit abruptly, so she ended up feeling dizzier than anticipated.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>If this is the only way I can feel, I welcome it </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Now she realized the moans came from the couples surrounding her rather than a ghost or poltergeist.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I am alone, aren’t I?</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p>“Cigarette?”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>What a pair of eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Honey brown and glistening. Hiding more that they originally show. Eyes full of life.</p><p>
  <em>When was the last time my eyes shone like that?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>The woman did not respond. Instead, she looked back at her glass and spoke, voice raspy as if she hadn’t used it in a long time.<br/>
<br/>
”I am a soldier. I do not wish for anything”.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah”, the other one smirked. Did she? Who knows. The nearly empty whiskey glass laughed in pity.</p><p> </p><p>“A Soldier, then. Come here, Soldier. You have pretty red hair.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She finally looked back up, avoiding those eyes that were full of life. Instead, she studied the rest of the woman’s features. Clean cut, makeup applied elegantly. Teeth white even though her  breath reeked of tobacco.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Rose. The name’s Rose”.</p><p> </p><p>“Rose”, the soldier repeated. It rolled off the tongue nicely. <em>Rose.</em></p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p>“Come here, Soldier”, Rose said once again, her voice dripping honey. Why was she this interested? They were obviously polar opposites. Her cheeks were plump and her hair was bouncing off her shoulders. Meanwhile, Soldier was thin to the bone and her locks, barely any left from the malnutrition and alcohol abuse, tightly tied into a sole braid along her back.</p><p> </p><p>Soldier tried to remember a time her hair was full. A time her hair was full and her eyes were lively. She couldn’t seem to recall anything.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t say a word but obliged. Soldier took the cigarette from the other woman’s hands- they were clean and soft, she noted. Hers were calloused and wounded.</p><p>She did not smoke.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Say, <em>Soldier</em>. Do you believe in love?”</p><p>Rose extended a hand. The other woman took it.</p><p> </p><p>”I am a soldier. I don’t believe in anything”.</p><p>“Hm.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Rose led them to the dance floor and rested her head on the soldier’s shoulder. Her thick hair must have protected her from the prick of Soldier’s collarbone, because she did not utter a word about it.</p><p>They started to gently sway to the music. Soldier was unsure whether she could hear it or she was just moving along, trusting this stranger’s sense of beat. Nonetheless, this woman’s body was warm. Warm and plump. Her eyes alive.</p><p> </p><p>“Say, Soldier. You do not seem to talk much, but how is it that I heard your faithful wail earlier?”<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The redhead looked down, puzzled. Was this woman reading her thoughts?</p><p> </p><p>She did not respond but, rather, held Rose’s waist more firmly. She felt her thigh brush against hers and smelt her shampoo. Fresh. Warm. Plump. <em>Alive.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>Did Soldier wish to be alive?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She always told herself she only awaited death. How is it that she didn’t do it herself? Soldier did not believe in a god or deity, so taking her own life was no taboo.</p><p>She always assured herself her time would come. Why wasn’t it coming?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Some moaning in the night isn’t any big thing. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Soldier wondered what Rose’s moans sounded like. Surely, they must be loud and lively.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Say, Soldier. Look me in the eyes”, Rose raised her head to look at the woman. The redhead was taller than her.</p><p>“I told you your hair is pretty earlier. Why do you keep it tied? Let it down.”</p><p> </p><p>The other woman only blinked. Rose’s left hand moved softly, with rhythm, and untied the knot keeping the hair together. She used her right hand as well to untie the braid, never stopping their dance. Soldier let it happen. She only kept looking at Roses eyes, her eyelashes. Full and black as ebony.</p><p>Honey brown. Full of life. Her eyesight was most likely wondrous as well.</p><p>Soldier was the polar opposite. Hers were ashy blue, dead. They were cloudy like you would expect from a corpse shortly after death. One of her pupils was gone. Soldier was almost blind from that eye, her right one. The other one worked well enough to help her keep a target when she needed to.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“See? It’s prettier like this”.</p><p>Rose gently pulled away to admire the woman before her. Her red hair was thin and plain, but it was finally down.</p><p>Soldier wondered if it made any difference.</p><p> </p><p>As they had stopped dancing, Rose took her hand and led her away from the dance floor. She found a quiet corner in the bar.</p><p> </p><p>“Come here, Soldier”, she spoke, almost a habit by now since their hands were still entwined.</p><p>Soldier, once again, did not respond. She only looked back.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Say, Soldier…if I told you that I loved you, what would you do?”</p><p> </p><p>The other woman shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>“Look me in the eyes”.</p><p> </p><p>Rose cupped the soldier’s cheek with her hand.</p><p>“If I told you when I saw you I felt a little shock—“</p><p> </p><p>The other shook her head again.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What do Rose’s moans sound like?</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p>Rose chuckled. “I see you probably would not believe me. “</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p>“I do not blame you, you know. I’m sure you don’t believe in love.”</p><p> </p><p>“I am a Soldier, I don’t believe in a-“</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I know”, the other woman laughed. “You are a soldier, you don’t believe in anything. You told me that already. Again, I do not blame you.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>…</p><p>“You know, Soldier, you and I are not that different”.</p><p> </p><p>The Soldier’s eyebrows furrowed. “How so? We are polar opposites”.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, this is fun. You are finally talking”</p><p> </p><p>Rose, with her left hand, touched the small necklace that hung from her neck- the only piece of jewelry she seemed to be wearing. It was shaped like a star. Soldier found it pretty.</p><p> </p><p>“If we spend more time together, I’m certain you will find we are more similar than you think”, Rose winked.</p><p> </p><p>“Interesting”.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Soldier did not know why she let this woman take up this much of her time. Not that she had anything else to do. She was just waiting for hers to come, like she had been all her life.</p><p>This stranger was intriguing, she had to admit. It’s not like Soldier had anything this woman could want. Nor money, nor beauty. If anything, Rose seemed to be the type of person to possess it all.</p><p> </p><p>On the contrary to that, Soldier had nothing. She did not have a home, she did not have a god. Her eyes instinctively fell to the star necklace.</p><p>Could Rose be a ghost in the eyes of her God too?</p><p>Well, how could one be a ghost in the eyes of their God if they didn’t have one, like Soldier didn’t?</p><p> </p><p>“Soldier.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm?”</p><p> </p><p>“Come here, darling.”</p><p> </p><p>The woman approached Rose again. Rose put a hand on her waist. Soldier felt electric pulses coming from the other woman’s fingertips onto her entire body. She didn’t let herself show it.</p><p> </p><p><em>This is nicer than using alcohol to feel</em>, Soldier noted.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Look me in the eyes.”</p><p> </p><p>Soldier obliged. Those eyes that were full of life were staring back into her own.</p><p> </p><p>“If I told you that I loved you would you… give me some <em>honey</em>?”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Huh.</p><p>Why would this beautiful woman want something like that from her?</p><p>There were plenty good looking, rich, <em>alive </em>men and women at the bar that night. Why Soldier?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Fuck it. </em>
</p><p>Soldier knew well what this woman was doing now. She had hers coming.</p><p> </p><p>“Rose. Tell me that you love me.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Some moaning in the night isn’t any big thing.</p>
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